What is POC Connectivity?

The lab interface to the EHR.

What is POC connectivity? It can be hard to categorize or define Relaymed, as the healthcare industry uses so many different terms: lab interface, middleware, POC informatics, data management, physician office laboratory (POL) connectivity — to name just a few!

In simple terms, it enables point-of-care (POC) devices to connect, as this is functionality they do not have. So point-of-care connectivity, or POC connectivity, it is.

The need for POC connectivity

As a starting point, POC devices aren’t internet enabled and they use multiple different communication standards. To make matters more complex, EHRs use multiple different communication standards. And that’s why the term middleware is often used, as our software sits in the middle and joins these two worlds together. But that’s just part of the story. We’ve written about the need for POC connectivity software, which you can explore further in our blog.

Connecting devices

To enable devices to connect, we created a clever software application we call the Relaylink. Our clients simply download and install this to a PC — it’s no more time consuming or complicated than Skype, so implementation is easy. After connecting the devices to the PC, results are now relayed to Relaymed. The clever part is there are no device specific drivers, just the Relaylink, which can connect any POC device.

That’s because we believe in open connectivity at Relaymed. So our software allows devices from all vendors to connect, removing the need for device specific data management software. We work with all the leading POCT (point-of-care testing) vendors and are continuously integrating with more devices — both CLIA waived such as the Siemens CLINITEK urine analyzer and non-waived (moderately complex) like the Abbott CELL-DYN Emerald hematology analyzer. You can see the full list of compatible devices here.

And where should POC devices connect to? That’s where Relaymed really comes into its own, by providing a seamless connection straight to your EHR. The EHR is the central repository for all results, so we ensure they get there automatically, instantly and accurately.

Modern technology

Relaymed is very different to other POC connectivity solutions, such as Telcor, Alere RALS and Conworx (now Siemens Informatics). They were originally designed for the hospital market and not suited to primary care demands, where speed and simplicity of use are paramount. Furthermore, they were not designed for clients with multiple locations to connect, often across a wide geography.

As Relaymed is cloud-based, there is no need for complex and expensive servers or other hardware to reside on our clients side, which would be typical of an old technology approach used by other solutions. Relaymed instead takes a modern software as a service (SaaS) approach, available via affordable monthly subscription plans with no upfront fees — very different to the expensive upfront licensing costs of software of old.

Talk to us

The good news is Relaymed is the solution to POC connectivity issues and onboarding is fast. To learn more, request a demo today.